BURLINGTON - A detective in the Boone County Sheriff's Department resigned from the force this week after a judge ordered him to stay away from his former wife.

An order of protection was issued Monday against Jason C. Compton, 28. He is to have no contact with his former wife for two years, under the terms of the order.

The judge issued the order after the officer's former wife claimed Compton punched her in the face and pulled her to the ground, according to a statement she made to court officials. She said the confrontation happened in her driveway on Dec. 26 when Compton arrived to pick up their young child.

Compton's attorney, Ed Drennen of Florence, said his client has appealed the judge's decision to Circuit Court in an attempt to get the protection order lifted. No criminal charges have been filed against Compton.

"He absolutely denies his ex-wife's claim," said Drennen, who declined to comment further on the case.

Major Jack Banks, spokesman for the Boone County Sheriff's Department, would not discuss the circumstances of Compton's resignation. Federal law, however, prevents anyone with an active order of protection from possessing, transporting, shipping or receiving any firearms or ammunition.

Compton had been on the force 51/2 years and was under Banks' command.

A domestic violence summons has also been issued in Compton's name stemming from the Dec. 26 confrontation. In that case, Compton's estranged wife claims in a petition to the court that Compton carried their young daughter "like a football" and "threw her into his car."

The estranged wife claims their daughter was bruised and had difficulty lifting her arm because of the confrontation.